Bill Would Create New Retirement Plan For Public Safety Employees

State Senators approved the creation of new retirement system for public safety employees Tuesday.
Senate Bill 711 offers public safety employees who are now members of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System a retirement plan more in line with the plan to which most police officers and firefighters belong, said State Senator Kenneth Corn, author of the measure.

“We have thousands of public safety employees who risk their lives every day who don’t enjoy the same retirement options their police officer and firefighters brethren. This legislation will give them options they don’t currently enjoy,” said Corn, D-Poteau.

Under current law, public safety employees other than police officers and firefighters are simply members of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, which has far more rigid requirements for retirement than do the retirement plans for police officers and firefighters. For example, police officers and firefighters can retire after 20 years of service. Most OPERS members can’t retire until the sum of their years of service and age equals 80. For others, service time and age must equal 90.

Senate Bill 711 creates a Public Safety Employees retirement system within OPERS that will allow county sheriff’s deputies, emergency medical technicians and others to retire at age 55 (if they have at least six years of service) or after 25 years of service.

All new eligible public safety employees hired after October 31, 2005, will be included in the system and those eligible employees who are currently members of OPERS can choose to be included in the new system. Participating employees will be required to pay an increased employee contribution to the plan.

Although the bill passed by an overwhelming margin, Corn said he was disappointed in the seven Senate Republicans who voted against the bill. Those members were Senators Cliff Aldridge of Midwest City, Randy Brogdon of Owasso, Brian Crain of Tulsa, John Ford of Bartlesville, Clark Jolley of Edmond, Mike Mazzei of Tulsa and Mike Reynolds of Oklahoma City.

“It’s hard for me to understand how these Senators could be against treating these public safety employees fairly, especially since they will all be paying more to belong to the new plan,” Corn said.

Senate Bill 711 now heads to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for consideration.